Getting to Know the Opponent with Dunking with Wolves’ Ben Beecken
By Joe Dexter
The Milwaukee Bucks will continue preseason play tonight in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as they take on another young up and comer — The Minnesota Timberwolves. To better get to know tonight’s opponent, we look to Dunking With Wolves Editor Ben Beecken to answer all you need to know about Flip Saunders and the Wolves.
BTBP: The biggest trade of the off-season was the Wolves and Cavs deal that sent Kevin Love to the Cavs and Anthony Bennett, Andrew Wiggins and Thaddeus Young to the Wolves. What was your overall reaction to the deal?
Just kidding. Kind of.
This is certainly an oft-asked question, but also one that I’ve become quite adept at answering. No, the Wolves did not “win” the trade. It would have been impossible, of course, as they sent out a top-six NBA player in the transaction. I touched on that a bit here, right after the trade was finalized.
They did, however, do as well as they possibly could have. At the above link, I also touch on the other alleged offers on the table, and in a nutshell, the right to max-out Eric Bledsoe or Klay Thompson is far, far less attractive than Andrew Wiggins on a rookie contract. Throw in a legit starter in Thaddeus Young who is either a) here for two years or b) a great trade chip and the who-knows-what-you’re-really-getting former number-one overall pick in Anthony Bennett, and I’m in.
I’m in the camp that doesn’t think Wiggins will be an All-NBA-type player. I think he ends up as a cross between Andre Iguodala and Luol Deng — a very, very good player. He’ll likely make a couple All-Star teams, but I don’t think he’ll ever be as good as Kevin Love. That said, I really hope I’m wrong.
BTBP: Ricky Rubio is a top distributor in this league, yet he continues to receive flack for his shooting touch and value for the Wolves. He’ll become a restricted free agent at the end of the season if he doesn’t sign an extension before the end of the month. Where do you see Rubio fitting in the big picture?
Beecken: The Wolves should let the market determine his value, but should absolutely match any offer sheet he signs.
He’s not a max-worthy player, but he’s not as far away from that level as the national media would like to believe. I think he’s worth up to four-years, $52 million. As of right now, the Wolves allegedly have a four-year, $48 million offer on the table.
I’m worried that Flip Saunders doesn’t feel as committed to Rubio as he probably should be, so the possibility of a trade is always on the table. Unless a Godfather-type offer came along, however, I would extend Rubio at almost any cost, not trade him. If I had to guess, I’d say that Saunders does the same. It doesn’t mean I’m not worried about it, of course.
BTBP: Early in the summer, Flip Saunders searched the coaching landscape and fell short of hiring someone that fit his mold. Then he called upon his own number. How long do you see him coaching this team? Isn’t it imperative that they keep the same coach through their growth period?
Beecken: I wasn’t thrilled about Saunders hiring himself, although many Wolves fans could see this coming from a mile away.
And now that he’s the coach, I bet he stays in that role for the foreseeable future. If I had to put a number on it, I’d say another 3-5 years, depending on the success of the team. If they win 30-35 games this year and challenge 40 wins and a playoff spot in 2015-16, he’ll be on the bench for awhile.
There are all kinds of rumors about who he could be tabbing as the next coach (Minnesota native and Memphis head coach Dave Joerger, who almost had the job this summer, and current Iowa State head coach and former Wolves player and executive Fred Hoiberg, to name a couple), but I suspect it will be a little while.
BTBP: The Wolves brought in a very good athletic rookie class that includes Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Glenn Robinson III. When you factor in 2nd year players like Shabazz Muhammad and Anthony Bennett – there is a lot of players looking to prove themselves over the period of a game. How does Flip Saunders distribute minutes to his young players at similar positions?
Beecken: That’s the million dollar question, and something that is a real issue.
From my perspective, Muhammad is a non-prospect, and Robinson III should spend the season playing heavy minutes in the D-League. LaVine is simply too raw to play heavy minutes, although Saunders is extremely fond of him and is hitching his executive and coaching wagon to ‘his guy’.
Wiggins will start and lead the team in minutes, so there’s no issue there, and Bennett will be the top backup at the power forward spot behind Thaddeus Young. I’d play Muhammad as a fifth forward — sort of an energy, small-ball ‘4’ that plays 5-10 minutes per game depending on match-ups and game flow.
It will certainly be intriguing to see how the minutes end up being divided, but I wouldn’t worry about Wiggins and Bennett getting their minutes.
BTBP: We hear about all the young guards and small forwards but what are your feelings on the post game. Can Gorgui Dieng and Nikola Pekovic be a productive front line pairing?
Beecken: Yes, they will be. They were last year, actually.
Pekovic is still somehow underrated nationally, and part of that is due to perpetually missing 15-20 games due to nagging foot and ankle issues. He is, however, a top-six or seven, at worst, center in the NBA.
If Gorgui Dieng is the player that he was last year in Pekovic’s absence, then he could be a starting center in the league, too. Look for them to have an almost even minutes split as Saunders is trying to keep Pekovic under 30 minutes per game in hopes of avoiding a string of missed games. With Dieng’s obvious ability and production from a year ago, he can afford to do that.
Plus, Ronny Turiaf is still on the roster as a third center, and he can help alleviate any foul trouble or injury issues the Wolves may come across over the course of the season.